Change of Scenery
by Just One
Summary: NaruIno. Sakura smiled coyly at her platinum haired girl friend, lifting the cup of herbal tea to her lips. 'Maybe all you two needed was a change of scenery,' she mused. In which the village of Cloud becomes a surprisingly effective matchmaker.
1. Chapter 1: Mission Commence

**Change of Scenery**

Chapter One - Mission Commence

There are many different ways to describe the life of a young shinobi. Ask the exuberant, boastful future ninja that attend the academy's classes almost religiously everyday and they will tell you that the shinobi way is the coolest, utmost superb way of life. They will tell you that they look forward to their graduation more than anything; they desire to be like the ones they look up to, the great Kages, or their parents, perhaps... They long for the excitement.

Ask the more seasoned, hardened, more experienced shinobi in the world and they will smile in a way that is pitiful more than anything; pity for those that might walk in their footsteps in the future. They are the real shinobi, the ones who know they are only tools in a majestic battle for peace and power and the same time. These shinobi will tell you that ninja life brings many hardships, many losses to weigh down your heart.

However, if you'd ask one Uzumaki Naruto at the moment, he'd reply with nothing but a low grunt and the almost inaudible whisper that he was simply too tired to answer. Just back from the latest mission, the blonde loudmouth found himself reporting for duty in the Hokage's office while forcing back the sleep, the only thing keeping his eyelids open and brain working his sheer willpower.

Shinobi life was exhausting. It was tiring, backbreaking and strenuous, and he sure was not ready for the call of duty yet. Naruto was ready to hit the sack with all his might and all of Konoha be damned, he would make up for the lack of sleep from the last couple of weeks whether there were dozens of missions piled up on the Hokage's desk or not.

The platinum-haired kunoichi next to him could only fully agree, reminding herself not to slouch. Whereas Naruto had just returned from Hoshi, Ino had been preoccupied with internal affairs - aiding Shizune, as the Hokage's assistant whilst Sakura had gone to Cloud to proctor at the oncoming Chuunin exams. The Legendary Sucker was a lot to handle, Ino had found out over the last couple of days, and knew how to get under your skin. The job was quite exhausting. Ino couldn't see how her roseate-haired friend put up with the old lady.

Tsunade eyed the drained pair of shinobi in front of her, attempting to hide their fatigue and stood from her chair, turning to face the window. Currently, more than half of the village's forces were beyond Fire country's borders, dealing with other countries' problems. It pained her to send them out after just returning home, but there really wasn't a choice. Hokage or not, the mission was urgent and even she didn't have a say in the matter. Either Konoha take the request, or some other village would. There was still something called dignity and if it were upto Tsunade, if anything was to break down her village's dignity, it certainly would not be lack of sleep.

"This will be a relatively easy mission. Light B-rank. This scroll has to be delivered to the Cloud immediately. It contains sensitive information on a need-to-know basis." She picked up one of the countless parchment scrolls on the wooden surface of her desk, grimacing and throwing it to Naruto, who caught it with one hand while slapping himself across the cheek to stay awake with the other. The blonde quickly pocketed the item into the safety of his Chuunin vest.

"Our spies across the country have been hearing rumours about a riot in Kumogakure, a group of hostile missing nin attempting to cause mayhem. There is a good chance they mean to interfere with the exams." What Tsunade did not mention was that when the two Chuunin got back, there would probably be another delivery mission waiting. The overworked duo before her did not need any more pressure now. "You leave first thing in the morning. Dismissed."

The authoritarian tone of voice she used made it clear to both Naruto and Ino that they were not in position to argue, and so, the two shinobi left the Hokage's office without a word.

Naruto slid a hand through his hair while Ino arched her tired back, falling in step with him. First thing in the morning was shinobi slang for four am and it was already well over midnight. In this case, it was simply a matter of gathering their needed weapons and travelling packs, getting all the sleep they could get, and then meeting up at the gates. They walked on in fitting silence until reaching the point where their roads home split up. Ino mouthed a weary goodbye and Naruto lifted a hand in what she would call a very lousy greeting and a display of lack of manners, if she had not been so very spent.

Ino relied on instinct alone as she let her feet carry her home, counting on the fact that there would be no one out and about so late at night - the risk of bumping into anyone if she let her eyes droop was very low. She was hardly aware her eyes closed. She didn't notice when her knees buckled, or when her body hit the pavement. The bliss of rest enveloped her softly like a warm, feathery blanket and as she gave into what her body had been craving for about a week, it gave her the most comfort she'd felt in a long time.

---------

The next thing Ino knew was annoyance. Annoyance at the ray of sunlight hitting her eye so that she couldn't help but squint, the sunlight developing her entire body as she sat up, slowly coming to an understanding that it was morning already. The next thing she became aware of was a dreadful feeling of having left something very important slip to the back of her mind when it deserved full attention, followed by the image of Naruto crouching in front of her.

"Aren't we supposed to be delivering a scroll just about now?" The blonde chimed, grinning in a way that shouldn't be possible after just waking up. Silent comprehension dawned on her as she realized he had probably been up for a while already - were they not supposed to leave at dawn? Naruto, unaware of her mind's numbness in the mornings, clarified cheerfully.

"You didn't show up, so I decided to go look around the village to find you... I don't really know where you live, so it was hard finding you! I thought of asking Sakura-chan and I was just about to go see her, but then I found you in the middle of the street."

"I don't think Sakura would have appreciated you waking her so early for such a thing," Ino mumbled, standing up and brushing the dirt from her clothes.

"Ah, but she'd be delighted to see me, of course!" her companion grinned. She couldn't help but let out an annoyed sigh at his ignorance.

"Shut up, dork... Come on, I need to go grab my stuff before we leave," the kunoichi replied, successfully putting an end to his smug attitude whilst giving him a push in the direction of her house. "Let's go!"

---------

She didn't take long to collect her weapons . Ino slipped two sets of recently sharpened kunai into her many hidden pouches, accompanied by a few trustworthy shuriken. As her father had taught her long ago when she first decided to pursue a shinobi carreer, she always had a travelling pack ready for use. Ino crouched to peer underneath her bed, grabbing the dark purple rucksack she used on missions, and stood straight, strapping the pack onto her back.

The blonde-haired girl turned towards Naruto. He sat waiting in her windowsill, enjoying the early morning sunlight with closed eyes. Surely, if she let him rest any longer, he would fall asleep again. Ino reminded herself of how much Naruto resembled her procrastinating teammate. She heaved a grand sigh, quickly infused chakra into her feet and grabbed him by the collar of his jumpsuit, dragging the both of them out of the window and to the ground below with dazzling speed.

They landed safely in Ino's mother's flower bed. Her mom would have an outrage when she found out, but Ino could not care less at the moment. Another mission was waiting, another job do be done. Another duty to fullfil at the speed of light, if possible. They were already late.

"Come on, lazy ass! No slacking! You've been hanging with Shikamaru way too much lately, I can tell," She muttered darkly, glaring at the poor boy with flaming intensity. Naruto could almost feel his skin burning from her gaze, and he let out a violent shudder.

"Right behind you, Ino-chan!" Naruto nodded, jumping up and taking off after his companion over the rooftops.

This was one of his favorite activities, soaring over the rooftops with the morning sun brightly on his face. On moments like this, he felt lucky for being a ninja, for having the ability to pound chakra into the soles of his feet, for coming so close to actual _flying_. A feeling of complete euphoria overtook him as their feet hit the top of the village's gates, only to move on without staggering. The shinobi had long since learned never to look back. The words of Iruka-sensei during one of their ramen trips resounded in his ears, shutting out the sounds of windy gales whipping about his hair.

_Only look into the future._

* * *

A/N: This is the first multi-chaptered piece I am publishing on and I'm actually quite nervous. It's different from my other pieces as I am actually taking an effort to write well and grammatically correct. Normally, I hardly mind such things and just write what comes up in my head, but a multi-chapter deserves some more attention and lovin', if you ask me. Obviously, this is a NaruIno story. I am tring really hard to keep Naruto in character - He is my fave Naruto character, but I find him laboriously hard to write. It's odd. tell me how I'm doing, will you please. There will probably be about ten chapters, I will update tomorrow.

Reviews are love and will be replied to no matter what.

-xx- Nika-chan


	2. Chapter 2: The Danger Approaches

**Change of Scenery**

Chapter One - The Danger Approaches

The two ninja made good time that day. They crossed the border of Fire Country around noon and when halting to rest for the night, they were only a few miles away from the edge of Lightning Country.

Naruto slumped against a tree trunk on the edge of their camping site, yawning noisily and quite visibly.

"Put your hand in front of your mouth when you do that, Naruto!" Ino marked, spreading out her blanket to sit on before settling down and making herself as comfortable as one can get on the bare ground. Naruto wisely chose to ignore her, already accustomed to her obsession concerning manners and what she called 'proper behaviour'.

When he had returned from almost two years of training with the old pervert, Jiraiya, the air between former rivals Sakura and Ino had cleared miraculously. Naruto figured that without Sasuke around, they had nothing left to bicker about. If you asked him, it had been a useless fight anyway.

With the bonding the two girls had done in his absence, it was inevitable that Sakura began to invite her girl friend to their training sessions, so that the two girls could spar together while he took on Kakashi. This habit resulted in arbitrary ramen trips with himself eating all the ramen he could lay hands on, Ino scolding him for it and Sakura trying to keep the peace. She was both pleased and thankful that she had her two childhood friends back, and would have done anything to keep them from arguing. Her efforts were usually futile and the two blonds exchanged many harsh words on these endeavours. Both parties never seriously meant any harm with it, of course.

'Those were really fun trips! It's too bad we haven't got any time off these days.' A frown creased Naruto's brow and he voiced the question he had been meaning to ask the blonde-haired girl beside him all day.

"Hey, Ino-chan... Why do you think Baa-chan's been so hard on us lately? We don't even get to rest in between missions!"

Ino lifted her head from her knees to look at him in disbelief, heaving a deep sigh. "Are you serious? It's rather obvious, Naruto." The clueless expression Naruto wore indicated that he had no idea of the problem's cause.

"Okay. You know about the past war with Lightning, don't you?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Neji told me the tale of his father's death during our match at the first Chuunin exam we took... That was because of the war."

"Exactly," She nodded. Ino lifted a finger pointedly as if she were remembering something they had been taught back in the academy, a quirk of Sakura's she had copied unconsciously. "I think it was about two years after you and the toad Sannin returned; a treaty with the Lightning was formed, with signed contracts, joint missions, Kage visits throughout the countries, everything. Sakura must've told you, she was message-delivering her ass off during that time."

She took the affirmative nod from her intently listening spectator as a positive sign. Ino could not help but mark the look on his face as adorable, while he sucked in all the information he could give her. It was times like these that Ino desired to hit him over the head a couple of times. The boy had a good brain underneath that thick skull of his, but he did not use it all that often.

"Now, the reason the Chuunin exams this year are hosted over there is because though the air has been cleared between Konoha, Cloud, and Suna as well because of it's alliances to our home, most of the other ninja villages still aren't on good terms with Lightning Country. This exam is like a public display of generosity and kindness from Cloud to the rest of the shinobi world, to back up old alliances and engage in new ones. That's why there have been so many missions lately - both Konoha and Suna, Cloud's greatest allies nowadays, are trying to make sure that nothing bad happens during these exams. If any representative from another village gets killed during their stay in the Country of Lightning, a new war situation is almost certain to develop."

Ino left out the fact that she hadn't understood either until she had asked Shikamaru a while ago when she ran into him in the Hokage's hallways, him on his way to file a mission report and she busy stacking paperwork ready to sign.

Naruto's eyes lit up with understanding - This whole thing actually made a lot of sense!

"So that's reason Sakura-chan's been stationed in Kumo for the time being, to prevent a war..."

Ino nodded silently. "Yeah. They sent Shikamaru up there as well, two or three days ago. There's probably a group of sand nin present as well."

Naruto's brow furrowed again. "That probably means that as soon as we cross this border, those missing ninja Baa-chan mentioned may try to attack us, knowing we're from Konoha and knowing we're here to prevent them from messing up the exam! They could be after this scroll too," He frowned upon the realization, placing a hand over the pocket of his vest, which held the valuable item.

"We're probably in a whole lot more danger than Tsunade-sama told us..." Ino trailed off, casting a few suspicious glances into the surrounding shrubs and tall trees. Naruto lifted himself from the ground suddenly, snatching a kunai from some hidden pouch. The worried expression on his face said it all:

'I am not sleeping here until there's a decent trapping system 360 degrees around us.'

She gave a nod of recognition and settled herself against the tree trunk he had previously occupied, her hand twitching near the kunai pouch on her thigh. Ino knew she would not be able to relax until Naruto's skilfully built traps surrounded them. He had indeed improved a lot over the last five years. She hadn't actually known him before his departure to unknown lands alongside the Hokage's old team mate, but due to the improving friendship with Sakura after he returned, the three of them could often be seen hanging around town. That is, if there were no mission requests flooding the Hokage's office.

She found the blond young man was a refreshing change.

He didn't take long. After a little under ten minutes, Naruto returned, undoubtedly with a whole less wires and kunai on his body. By the way he yawned loudly, (she was just about to scold him, but refrained from it) and stretched profusely before lying down next to their tree comfortably, she figured it was all right for now.

"Who takes the first guard?"

His smile assured her further. "I left three Kage Bunshin around our site. We're safe, at least for tonight, so don't worry. No one will get through that without us noticing!" Ino felt a scowl form on her visage.

"Don't get cocky, idiot!" Ino knew better than to question his judgement, but could not stop the wave of familiar security from enveloping her as she slipped a silent kunai into her hand. You can never be too sure. The cold metal against her skin put her more at ease than anything could.

'You just try and sneak up on us, bastards...'

Naruto grinned, stifling another yawn under his breath. "See you in the morning, Ino-chan!" Rolling over, he turned his back to her and she was left to stare in wonder at the ease with which he could make himself comfortable. A loud snoring sound reached her ears and she snickered softly at the site before her; Naruto sprawled out on the ground, chest rising and falling as he snoozed loudly. A soft smile played around Ino's lips, and before she knew it, a light and blissful sleep enveloped her.

What awoke her two hours later was the sound of whizzing kunai.

* * *

A/N: I am so sorry. So far, this is the worst chapter I've written. Let's leave the fact that it's only the second one ever out of the question, alright? The structure of it seems off to me but I can't figure out what is so wrong about it. If you see anything that needs improvement (because there is a lot that does), tell me so in a review. Constructive criticism is very much welcome.

The next chapter will be published next weekend and is fully packed with action!

-xx- Nika-chan


	3. Chapter 3: Furious Fight

**Change of Scenery**

Chapter Three - Furious Fight

What awoke her the next day was the sound of whizzing kunai.

One of Narutos guarding clones stood by her side, shaking her awake. His features were tense and his eyes stormy. Ino understood quickly that they were under attack. The copy of her teammate poofed out of existence when a kunai hit him in the back. Another one came directly at her. She flicked the weapon in her hand into a defensive position and raised it in front of her face to deflect the enemy blade. Her eyes flickered quickly across the small clearing to judge the situation. Naruto was crouching on a tree trunk to her left, surrounded by weapons in a near-perfect circle. One lone man without ninja headband stood at the other side of the small clearing. She figured his loyalty had been hired. A devilish smirk graced his features as he reached down and took another kunai from one of the various pouches on his body.

_'What is he grinning about...? A decoy?'_

She scanned their surroundings a second time and halted when she spotted movement in the bushes. A camouflaged figure on their left, rapidly forming seals.

"Naruto!" Ino nodded her head in the direction of the second enemy and skidded to the side, avoiding the mass of shiny wire heading their way. She heaved a small sigh of relief when she saw that Naruto had done the same thing.

They met eyes and soundlessly picked their opponent. Naruto faced the wire-sporting man and Ino stood straight, settling her murderous glare on the first enemy. She spurted forward in a flash, charging into close combat with several weapons at hand. Her fingers tightened around the metal, the sharp blades drawing blood from her skin. After dodging the first wave of armoury coming her way, Ino vanished and reappeared behind her opponent. She threw a kick and a punch in the nose at him. The rogue ninja ducked underneath her advance and spun to the side to avoid the series of moves she launched next. Reacting too slow to his manoeuvre, Ino took a heavy blow to the stomach. She staggered back and grimaced in pain. Vaguely, she could see Naruto in the corner of her eyes as his immense chakra cut through a wire barrier the blonde's opponent had pulled up, before she concentrated on her own battle once again.

Ino flipped out another kunai and the two ninja clashed in a furious flurry of sparks. Ino came up with a battle strategy as fast as she could. This man used weapons, so all she had to do was avoid his attacks until he had no means of offence and defence anymore. Ino drew back, jumping and sliding to avoid his attacks. Her eyes widened when he revealed a scroll and slid a bloody thumb across it. Suddenly, gigantic axes whirled her way.

_'He has scrolls too? There goes the plan!'_ She took cover into the foliage, loosing sight of Naruto's battle. She could not afford to think about that now. Ino switched to offence and moved in for the kill, as she got sick of the dragging fight. Someone needed to take the lead, and Ino would make sure that she was the first one who tried. Somewhere to her left, Naruto's opponent smashed through the trees, a rasengan induced hole gaping where his lungs should be. Naruto appeared beside Ino and gritted his teeth. The blue afterglow around his fist was fading quickly.

"Keep him busy for a minute." Ino whispered, glancing at Naruto from the corner of her eye. The blonde grabbed a smoke bomb and jumped into the trees, hurling it at the enemy ninja to district him. Ino smiled. Her hands formed the seals rapidly as she whispered the magic word, and soon she felt the familiar sensation of entering another person's consciousness. The feeling was something no one ever got fully accustomed to, according to Ino's father. She found this easy to believe: the man's body was heavy and rigid compared to her own. The body odor was just despicable, and Ino missed her own feminine clothes. She couldn't wait to get it over with.

"Ino? Let's get back to camp." Narto's voice called Ino from her ponderings and she smiled, though akwardly.

"Yeah, we should go back now." She concentrated chakra at the soles of her feet and flung her host's body into the trees. Her movements were more limited than with her own body, but the greater strength compensated for it. With a few jumps, Ino landed by the smoldering remnants of the fire. She sat down, crossing her legs out of habit. Naruto jumped down in front of her, carrying in his arms the empty shell that her body was now. Ino hated seeing her form so limp.

"You'd better make sure nothing happens to me, Naruto!" she growled. He gulped softly and nodded, positioning himself directly across from her with her slender frame in his arms.

"I won't lose sight of you, Ino-chan!" He grinned brilliantly, eyes fixed on her hollow body. Ino wasn't sure if this was a good thing, expecially when his eyes wandered down to her cleavage. She huffed and reached over, bopping him over the head. Naruto yelped and rubbed the sore spot on his head gingerly, looking up at her. His eyes were accusing her of some huge crime.

"Hey! That hurts a lot more now you've got a guy's strength!"

"When you talk to me, look here! I'm in here, you know!" Ino fumed, pointing at her host's face. Naruto scratched his neck and grinned, red with embarrassment.

"Right. I'll remember that."

Ino doubted that he really would, so she decided to get it over with. She closed her eyes and started the procedure, forcing a path into the deepest and darkest corners of her victim's mind. Every important detail she imprinted in her head, though it wasn't much. She skipped the parts about his private life; there were some things that she did not want to know in a million years. The proces took a long time and Ino felt her chakra decrease steadily. She hated the feeling, like someone had left a tab open somewhere that she could not close. As long as she was not in her own body, her technique fed off her chakra. She would have to hurry.

In the meantime, Naruto layed Ino's body on a patch of soft grass, afraid to cause a single scratch or bruise. If he wasn't careful with her body, Ino would probably hit him again. Naruto wasn't looking forward to that. He flopped over onto his back and sighed. There wouldn't be much to do for the rest of the day... He lifted a hand in front of his face and took a good look at the gashes on his arms. Ino's opponent had been a weapon user, he recalled, but the person he fought used wires.

_'Very sharp ones, too'_, he mused. He'd been able to prevent any real harm from coming to him by cutting them, but the slashes were still deep enough to draw blood. Or perhaps some of the damage done had already been repaired... He had always been a fast healer. Naruto considered them lucky that these were the only wounds that had been inflicted on their part. It could have been far worse... But then again, it had been an easy battle. He frowned a little, insulted that the enemy seemed to think he could be beaten that with such ease.

_'I wonder what Ino manages to dig up...'_ Naruto turned his head to look at the girl inside a man's body, and the empty shell lying beside her. It was weird to see Ino's lean form and to know that there was nothing inside it. Instead, she was twirling the insides of a man's brain around. In a far corner deep in his soul, Naruto pitied the enemy. He wouldn't like to have a girl in his head either. Especially a violent one like Ino. Who knew what kind of permanent damage she could do?

Naruto shuddered at the thought. Hopefully he wouldn't be the one to find out any time soon. A strange, contented feeling overcame him. It happened a lot after battles; a euforic after-glow of victory. He folded his arms under his head and wondered whether or not the Country of Lightning had ramen. If not, he'd have to do some negotiation when he became Hokage.

A few hours later, a soft whimper from Ino's side of the camp awoke Naruto from a restless half-sleep. One side of him had been resting, but the other had been guarding the whole time. He blamed the weird sleeping habits on years of heavy training. Every ninja possessed a strong dose of paranoia.

Naruto crouched down next to Ino's awakening form and found that she had returned to her own body. She stretched her muscles, loving the feeling of her own skin once more. Naruto agreed that he much preferred her body when there was some life present within it. He hadn't liked it when her body lay in his arms like a rag doll. Ino blinked against the heavy shift of mind and rubbed her temples. A headache drummed a marching beat on the inside of her brain.

"What did you find out?" Naruto inquired, unable to keep his curiosity from shining through the mask of sincerity he had put on his face.

Ino shook her head, a bit dissapointed with herself. After hours of work, she'd found so little information that it almost didn't seem worth the time. "Barely anything. He is nothing but a small assassin. He doesn't know anything except from the fact that his leader is planning to attack during the final rounds on the exam. They want to take down as many foreign politicians as possible, cause a war and use the mayhem to take over the village of Cloud, and the whole of Lightning Country with it. It's like a bad remake of the Chuunin Exam Fiasco years ago. Nothing we don't already know." She dug in her mind to see if she'd forgotten anything.

"Oh, but I got one thing that might be helpful; the leader is a Jounin from Mist." Ino sighed and glanced at the man whose brain she had just manipulated. "We should just drop this guy off with Cloud's ANBU interrogation squad once we get there, although I don't think they can discover more."

Naruto shrugged unceremoniously. "Either way, we can't leave him here. We oughta get going again, don't you think, Ino-chan?"

Ino eyed him darkly. "Are you kidding me? You're hurt!"

Naruto looked down at the small gashes covering his entire body. "Ah, yeah. Those wires were sharp like hell. But I'm okay! I heal quickly."

Ino's voice had an authoritative ring to it when she spoke next. "Lie down, and take off that jacket. I'll heal you before we go, but you're going to have to carry me to the Cloud. I hardly have any chakra left as it is." Naruto nodded a silent confirmation, fuming inwardly. He knew what she'd do to him if he refused. Begrudgingly, Naruto disposed of his jacket and stretched his body across the forest ground. He sent a small glare in Ino's direction, convinced that he could have managed to get them both to the village without treatment. Ino did not notice; she bent over his bare chest and stomach and fought down the blush rising on her cheeks. His muscles flexed under her fingers where she fed healing chakra into him. Her eyes flickered across his abs and she felt her heart speed up involuntarily.

_'Focus! Healing, that's what you are doing now, no matter how handso- ...The patient's physique shouldn't distract you!'_

She moved onto his legs and arms, and finished up with healing the cut on his head. All evidence left of the wounds was the blood caked in his spiky hair and the vague lines of scarred tissue covering him that would fade away within days. Ino sat back up and wiped a hand over her heated forehead.

"Well, that's about it." Naruto stretched his arms over his head and yawned noisily. Ino's hands twitched at her side. She would be so thrilled to smack him right at that moment. Naruto smiled brilliantly and her grudge swept away.

"That feels good, Ino-chan!" He gathered their travelling packs and dumped them in Ino's lap, then created a shadow clone to carry the rogue ninja they had captured before scooping her up in his arms. Naruto and Naruto the Second jumped into the treetops, swiftly moving forward in the direction of the village hidden in the Clouds.

Naruto's solid pace lulled Ino to sleep and she tucked her head into the crook of his neck, loosing herself to a tired and chakra-depleted world of dreams. Naruto shot glances down at her serene face and sighed in silent wonder. He still found the ability to heal an amazing thing. Nevertheless, Ino's healing was so different from Sakura's. He did not know what the Godaime's healing felt like, because he had always been unconscious when the Hokage had to work her magic on him. Sakura's gentle hands and chakra were the only means of comparison he had. Her healing was as a warm blanket draped over him. However, Ino's chakra had many sharp edges. It felt like running into an electrical fence, but not unpleasant. He felt regenerated the moment she first laid her hands on him. A soft chuckle rumbled in Naruto's chest. Ino's chakra fit her personality like a glove. Or maybe it was the other way around?

He shook the thoughts from his head and breathed the deep scent of spring that hovered above the trees, poppy flowers mixed with salty wind from the sea. Naruto sped up his pace and fixed his gaze on the way ahead. By the end of the day, the vague shimmer of buildings appeared on the horizon. Their destination, the village of Cloud, was coming into view.

* * *

A/N: Well, there you have it. I rather like this chapter, but that doesn't mean I'm satisfied. I'll see what you guys think and edit further on that. I'm sorry for the long wait, but I was having severe problems with the action scene. It is one of my worst aspects. I can't write a good fight for the life of me, but since it's a first timer, I think I at least managed a decent one! Tell me what you think, will you please? Feedback and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. 

A big hug and a big thanks go to Lanse, who has helped me immensely! You rock. I'll try to prevent the Clutter of Doom the next time. -

-xx- Nika


	4. Chapter 4: Awakening

Change of Scenery

Chapter Four - Awakening

Yamanaka Ino? What?

Both of Sakura's eyebrows rose. Like every morning since she arrived in Cloud, her temporary supervisor had given her the regular sheet of patients to check up on. When she had found out there was actually not much to do until the exams started, Sakura had sought out the Raikage and offered to lend a helping hand at the local hospital. She knew that most Cloud ninjas specialized in lightning techniques, like all ninjas from lightning country. She figured they did not have many good medics and that they could use her help. She was right.

Sakura frowned at the paper. According to her chart, there were other people that needed her more and it would be selfish of her to forget about that. Her mentor's voice resounded in her head like a mantra: '_Highest risk of dieing equals first treatment.' _Reluctantly, Sakura fixed a smile on her face and began her rounds. Luckily, only two people were on her list before Ino; a young man with a broken leg and an old, paralyzed woman that needed help taking her medication. Sakura fulfilled her duties and then hurried towards Ino's room. She checked her watch while walking in and closing the door behind her; she had a mere ten minutes.

Ino grimaced and propped herself up. "Hey..."

Sakura rushed forward to help Ino sit, checked her vitals out of instinct and plopped down on the edge of the bed. She took a good look at her friend. Ino looked like she was in pain, her blue eyes somewhat dimmed with fatigue. Sakura felt the urge to reassure her. "You'll be fine, Ino. Maybe a bit stiff at first, but that will fade away before nightfall. Promise. As will the headache."

Ino sighed, smiling weakly. "Are you sure? This really doesn't feel good." She reached up and rubbed her temples slowly, wincing.

Sakura made a mock-offended face. "I should know, of all people!" She dropped her hands and folded them on her lap. Her face softened. "What happened? I only know the medical stuff. How did you end up this way?"

Ino took a moment to gather her thoughts before replying. She felt like her head was stuffed with cotton balls. "A mission, of course. Tsunade-sama sent Naruto and me on a delivery-mission... It didn't turn out so well. Someone attacked us. We won the fight, but I used a lot of chakra while healing Naruto and interrogating the enemy we captured..."

Sakura's eyebrows rose high for the second time that day. "Naruto is here?"

"Yeah," Ino mumbled. "I wonder where he's at."

"Probably went to drop the guy you two caught off at ANBU headquarters. I bet he's been fretting about your condition." Sakura shrugged her shoulders indifferently, "You know how he gets when people harm his friends."

Ino nodded slightly. "Yeah..." They both knew. Sakura recalled the promise Naruto made her when the boy she loved had left. She still cared for Sasuke, but she had not seen him in so long.

"_We're like strangers now..." _Sometimes she wondered where he was. Almost three months after the time Orochimaru was expected take hold of Sasuke's body; the news had finally reached Konoha: Orichimaru was dead. Sasuke was not. Sakura sighed. It had been nearly four years since then, and they had seen Sasuke only once. They had been so close, when he had used Mangekyou Sharingan on the both of them without a glimpse of emotion in his eyes.

When she woke up, the earth had been trembling. She eventually found Naruto collapsed in the centre of a crater the size of the village. Tsunade told her Naruto had overused Rasengan (her rough estimate was twenty three in a row), and it would take him more than a year to recover. Of course, Naruto woke up four months after she dragged him back to the village.

"Sakura?" Sakura lifted her head in response.

"What?"

Ino smiled weakly, but her eyes were ablaze with her usual inner fire. "You weren't paying attention to your patient! Tsunade-sama wouldn't approve of that," she sang, taunting. Sakura grinned at that.

"Oh, shut up." She got up and pulled at her skirt, straightening her uniform. She held back a small sigh. "I've got to get going, Ino. Duty calls." Sakura reached out and wrapped her arms around her friend for a second. Ino smiled at her when she pulled back. "Thanks, Sakura. Could you-"

"I'll see if I can find out what Naruto has been up to," Sakura replied, winking. She made to leave the room, turning back once with a strict look on her face, "Ino, get some sleep." Only after receiving a nod from her friend did Sakura close the door.

* * *

He was at it again. Kicking the dirt in front of his feet, Naruto paced in circles in front of the hospital. He was ablaze with energy, wanting to do something, anything. He had always been horrible at sitting still, especially when one of his friends was involved. Ino, in this case. Stuffing his hands deeper into the pockets of his pants, he kicked at a rock and pondered what had happened. '_Stupid, stupid!'_

Ino had wasted the last bit of her chakra that remained after using her family's technique on healing his wounds... Wounds, which were not life threatening. Naruto had already felt the familiar sensation of the Kyuubi's vicious chakra flowing through his veins in an effort to keep its container unscathed, when Ino offered to heal his cuts. And he had not tried to stop her. Naruto furrowed his brow and fought down the urge to hit himself with something. '

"Oh, Sakura-chan! Hey! What are you doing here?" His first smile that day spread across his lips at the sight of her. With all the business concerning the Exams, he had hardly seen any of his friends in the past month.

"Eating my lunch," She grinned, holding up the box. "I'm working here until the exams start. They need experienced medics... I bet you're looking for Ino, right?" Sakura asked, taking a seat on one of the marble steps.

"Is she okay?" He felt the worry eating away at his mind.

"Yes, she'll be fine," Sakura smiled. She took a bite of a sandwich, and his stomach growled noisily. He had not eaten in two days. Sakura chuckled and offered him a part of her lunch, but he shook his head.

'Food comes in second place right now.'

"Where can I-"

She reached up and ruffled his hair playfully. "On the hallway to your left, room 43."

Naruto was already on his way up the stairs. "Thanks, Sakura-chan!"

* * *

There were two shiny digits in the middle of the door. One of them hung by a single nail. Naruto raised an eyebrow at it as he threw the door open. Apparently, there was not enough money to keep up with the maintenance of the hospital. Suddenly, it didn't seem so odd that Cloud wanted to improve its alliances with other ninja villages, or that Sakura had gotten a temporarily job so easily.

'They want money. Greedy little bastards.'

Ino looked so vulnerable, wrapped up in the white sheets. Her hair was a complete mess. He could see in her eyes that she was in pain, but it could not be terribly awful since she was sitting up and smiled at him when he came in. Seeing her awake made him feel a little better.

"Hey, Ino... Look, I'm sorry! You got into this mess because of me, and-"

A pained expression appeared on Ino's face. "Naruto, _please_ keep it down. My head hurts."

Naruto nodded and rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. "Right..." He sat down on the end of the bed ready to open up is mouth and apologize in hushed tones, but Ino beat him to it.

"Look, it isn't your fault. I'm fine and it was my own decision anyway. We are friends; I know you would never hurt me on purpose. Just forget about it." He wanted to disagree but she reached over, took his hand and gave a little squeeze. He surrendered with a sigh. _'She's injured... Can't refuse an injured friend anything. Besides, if she's okay with it, I shouldn't blame myself.'_ He nodded to himself.

"How are you?"

She sighed. "I'm fine, honestly. My head hurts, I can't really think straight, and my body feels like cotton candy. But I'm fine," She grimaced. "Tell me about the mission."

"Well... It took less than a day to get us here from the moment that you collapsed. I took you to the hospital. They said you would be fine, so I asked for directions to the Raikage's office. He seems to be a good leader, but... He acts as if he's got something up his ass! And Baa-chan's office is prettier than his."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "You're insulting one of the most important people in the country, Naruto! You are jealous, aren't you?" He huffed.

"Am not! ...But he's still a pompous ass. I'd make a better leader." He flashed a confident grin.

Ino smiled back and nodded for him to continue. "Well... He told me to pick you up and stop by, but that can wait until tomorrow."

Ino chewed at her bottom lip. "What would he want to see us about?"

Naruto cocked his head to one side and thought about it. "Well, probably to talk about the Exams and all that, if there's anything else we can do."

"Great, more work." Ino frowned. He chuckled.

"You get really grumpy when you're not feeling okay, Ino-chan." Her glare as enough to make him shut his mouth about the subject. "Consider it a vacation. At least Baa-chan can't get onto our backs because we're not beating ourselves up hard enough."

Ino chuckled. "Where did you sleep last night?" She asked.

"I rented a room at a local inn. There's enough room for you too, once they release you from the hospital."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Please tell me there are two beds."

Naruto pouted. "What's that supposed to mean?" She glared at him in a way that made him shiver gently. "Yes, there are two."

"Good," she smiled. "What happened to that bastard we caught?"

He gritted his teeth at the thought of the man. "I handed him over to ANBU, so he's got it coming for him." Ino gave a nod, accompanied by a chuckle that sounded quite evil to Naruto. There was a silence, but it did not last long.

"Okay Ino, you're free to go the moment you can feel your legs properly." Sakura explained, walking into the room. She checked her friend's vitals again and smiled pleasantly. Her eyebrows rose the umpteenth time that day as she saw the pair of hands lying on the sheets of Ino's bed, clasped tightly together. Naruto followed her gaze and shrieked inwardly.

'_She is never going to forget about this..._'

"Sakura-chan, it's not what you think!" He released Ino's hand and flailed his arms around, trying to find a way out. Sakura chuckled and Ino sighed, mumbling.

"Shut up, Naruto." He folded his arms across his chest and huffed.

'_Women are mean.'_

* * *

A/N: This is _not_ filler, if that is what you are thinking. This is a chapter that I used to introduce Sakura, so it does have a purpose. I am not very much for shoving three new characters down your throats in one chapter, so you will just have to deal with me. I know, I am horrible. Thanks to Useful76, loaned, afa, Judicium, LightningFox101, Dark Hope Assassin, Lanse, PastSorrows and jere7782 for reviewing chapter three. An even bigger thanks and a gigantic hug go to Lanse for being awesome and helping me so much: I love you!

I am sorry for the crappyness of this chapter, but I am tired of rewriting it (this is version seven). Maybe I will come back later on once the story is finished, and edit it some more, but I am done for now. Look out for chapter five in a week or so.

-xx- Nika


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